Method of making a collapsible hat

ABSTRACT

A collapsible hat having a brim is made by inserting a leading end portion of an elongated, three-dimensional, frame element into an opening of an annular compartment extending around an outer periphery of the brim until the leading end portion passes through another opening of the annular compartment. The leading end portion is connected to a trailing end portion to make the frame element circumferentially complete to thereby impart a three-dimensional shape to the outer periphery of the brim that corresponds to the configuration of the three-dimensional frame element.

BACKGROUND

This invention generally relates to a method of making a collapsiblehat.

Collapsible hats are readily foldable to a relatively small, compactsize rendering the folded hat easy to store in one's pocket or purse,and readily simple to transport from place to place. Such collapsiblehats are often provided with wide brims and are especially useful asinformal headwear, such as sunhats, rain hats and sports hats. U.S. Pat.Nos. 480,041; 2,149,468; 2,495,041; 2,686,917; 4,096,590; 4,682,373;4,999,851; 6,216,277; and 6,561,393, and U.S. Pat. Pub. No.2014/0331384, are exemplificative of such collapsible hats and methodsof folding and making them.

Such collapsible hats are often provided with a pre-formed, circular,metal or plastic, wire or hoop that is sewn in the outer periphery of abrim of the hat to impart the circular shape of the hoop to the outerperiphery of the brim when the hat is worn. The pre-formed hoop,however, can be relatively costly to manufacture, especially whenplastic molds are employed. In addition, the pre-formed hoop generallylies in a plane, thereby configuring the outer periphery of the hat brimto also generally lie in a plane. Once the pre-formed hoop is sewn intothe outer periphery of the hat brim, a crown of the hat, as well as anyribbon, bow, or like decorations for the hat, are prevented from beingreadily attached to the hat, except by hand, due to the presence of thesewn-in hoop.

Accordingly, it is desirable to make a collapsible hat that is lesscostly to manufacture, can have many diverse shapes, and can allow thecrown and/or decorations to be readily attached to the hat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a partly broken-away, perspective view of a collapsible hatthat is made according to the method of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a plurality of elongated, three-dimensional,frame elements cut from a generally planar sheet of material during afirst stage of the method.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting steps in the method of making the hatof FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 generallyidentifies a collapsible hat made in accordance with the steps of themethod shown in FIG. 5. The hat 10 includes a flexible brim 12 having agenerally annular shape and constituted of a thin, pliant sheetmaterial, for example, a fabric material such as cloth. A syntheticresinous material, such as polyester or nylon, or similar materials, isalso contemplated. The brim 12 has a generally circular, outer peripheryabout which a binding strip 14 is wrapped and stitched to form aninternal, annular, tubular sheath or compartment 16 (see FIG. 2).

Hat 10 further includes a crown 18. As shown, the crown 18 includes acollapsible, generally cylindrical, crown panel 20 stitched along alower circular region to a generally circular, inner periphery of thebrim 12, and a generally circular, top panel 22 stitched about itsperiphery to an upper circular region of the crown panel 20. Otherconfigurations for the crown 18 are contemplated. For example, the crown18 may be rounded or hemispherical, as in the case of a baseball orsports cap.

As described in detail below, an elongated, three-dimensional, frameelement 24 is received in the compartment 16 and preferably has apredetermined, three-dimensional shape that is imparted to the outerperiphery of the brim 12. Preferably, the frame element 24 isconstituted of a flexible, resilient material, such as metal orsynthetic plastic, that is capable of returning to an initial positionand an initial three-dimensional shape after having been folded, twistedor otherwise subjected to stress.

As shown in FIG. 4, the elongated frame element 24 is advantageously cutfrom a generally planar sheet 26 of metal or synthetic plastic material.The cutting is advantageously performed by a cutting die or a cuttinglaser. Multiple elongated frame elements 24 may be cut, eithersequentially or simultaneously, from the same single sheet 26 to reducemanufacturing costs. Although five frame elements 24 are illustrated inFIG. 4, it will be understood that many more may be formed from the samesheet 26. The elongated frame element 24 may also be molded. Afterforming the elongated frame element 24, the frame element 24 is agenerally ribbon-like, planar strip having opposite end portions 28, 30.The elongated frame element 24 can have any three-dimensional shape,such as, as illustrated, a sinuous form having many curved peaks andvalleys alternating with one another, or a scalloped configuration, ormay have any periodic or non-periodic shape whatsoever. Whatever shapeis chosen for the frame element 24, that shape dictates the shape to beeventually imparted to the outer periphery of the brim 12 since thepliant material of the brim 12 will follow the shape of the moreshape-retaining, frame element 24. Thus, in the case of a sinusoidalframe element 24, the peaks rise up above the general plane of the brim12, while the valleys sink down below the general plane of the brim 12.

In accordance with one aspect of this invention, the annular compartment16 is opened or split to expose opposite access openings 32, 34 (seeFIG. 1). A leading one of the end portions, e.g., 28, of the frameelement 24 is inserted into one of the openings, e.g., 32, of theannular compartment 16. Then, the leading end portion 28 is guidedaround the annular compartment 16 until the leading end portion 28passes through the other opening 34 of the annular compartment 16. Thetrailing end portion, i.e., 30, of the frame element 24 is left exposedoutside the opening 32. The sectional view of FIG. 2 shows that theframe element 24 preferably lies in an upright or vertical orientationinside the annular compartment 16.

The exposed end portions 28, 30 are then connected and joined togetherto make the elongated frame element 24 circumferentially complete tothereby impart the three-dimensional shape of the now annular frameelement 24 to the entire annular periphery of the brim 12. When theframe element 24 is made of metal, then the exposed end portions 28, 30are preferably welded, as shown in FIG. 3 at welds 36. When the frameelement 24 is made of plastic, then the exposed end portions 28, 30 maybe heat fused or adhered together. Any joining technique iscontemplated.

Once the end portions 28, 30 are interconnected, the exposed endportions 28, 30 may be concealed, for example, by covering them with abow, ribbon or like adornment, or the split in the annular compartment16 may be repaired.

FIG. 5 depicts some of the steps in the method of making the hat 10.Thus, step 40 depicts the forming of the elongated frame element 24;step 42 depicts the insertion of the elongated frame element 24 into theannular compartment 16; step 44 depicts the joining of the exposed endportions 28, 30; and step 46 depicts the attachment of a hat componentto the hat after the end portions 28, 30 have been joined.

Once the hat 10 is made, it may be collapsed or folded by, for example,twisting the hat about the axis 38 (see FIG. 1), a number of times,thereby configuring the annular framing element 24 having apredetermined diameter as multiple coils, each having a diameter smallerthan the predetermined diameter. These smaller coils generally overlieone another in a stacked, collapsed condition for storage and/ortransport. These smaller coils may then be pulled apart so that theframing element 24 can automatically unfold due to its inherentresilient characteristic and assume its larger annular shape when it isdesired to wear the hat.

It is currently preferred to fixedly secure opposite ends of an elasticstrap 48 to the underside of the hat 10, for example, underneath thebrim 12 adjacent a front of the hat 10. The strap 48 is normally heldtaut against the underside of the brim 12. Once the hat is collapsed tothe collapsed condition, the strap 48 is pulled around the overlyingcoils, thereby holding all the coils together. Advantageously, the strap48 has sufficient elasticity to enable the strap 48 to be pulled awayfrom the underside of the brim until the strap 48 engages underneath thewearer's chin, thereby serving as a chin strap in a use condition inwhich the hat is worn.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, also may find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in amethod of making a collapsible hat, it is not intended to be limited tothe details shown, since various modifications and structural changesmay be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention. For example, the frame element 24 need not be a planar stripas illustrated, but could be a wire having a circular cross-section.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A method of making a collapsible hat having a brim of apliant material, the method comprising: forming an annular compartmentextending around an outer periphery of the brim, and configuring theannular compartment with opposite openings; forming an elongated,three-dimensional, frame element of a flexible, resilient material, andconfiguring the frame element with opposite end portions; inserting oneof the end portions of the frame element into one of the openings of theannular compartment, and guiding the one end portion around the annularcompartment until the one end portion passes through the other openingof the annular compartment; and connecting the end portions together tomake the frame element circumferentially complete to thereby impart athree-dimensional shape to the outer periphery of the brim thatcorresponds to the configuration of the three-dimensional frame element.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the annular compartmentis performed by folding a binding strip about the outer periphery of thebrim to form a hollow tubular sheath.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe forming of the frame element is performed by cutting the frameelement from a generally planar sheet.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe forming of the frame element is performed by configuring the frameelement as one of a periodic and a non-periodic shape.
 5. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the inserting of the frame element is performed bymaintaining the generally planar, frame element in an uprightorientation.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the connecting of the endportions is performed by welding the end portions together.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, and attaching a hat component to the hat after theend portions have been connected.
 8. A method of making a collapsiblehat having a brim of a pliant material, the method comprising: formingan annular compartment extending around an outer periphery of the brim,and configuring the annular compartment with opposite openings; formingan elongated, three-dimensional, frame element of a flexible, resilientmaterial, and configuring the elongated frame element with a generallywavy shape and with opposite end portions; inserting one of the endportions of the elongated frame element into one of the openings of theannular compartment, and guiding the one end portion around the annularcompartment until the one end portion passes through, and is exteriorlyof, the other opening of the annular compartment; maintaining the otherof the end portions exteriorly of the openings of the annularcompartment; and connecting the exterior end portions together to makethe frame element circumferentially complete to thereby impart thethree-dimensional sinusoidal shape of the circumferentially completeframe element to the outer periphery of the brim.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein the forming of the frame element is performed by configuringthe frame element as a sinusoid.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein theforming of the frame element is performed by cutting the frame elementfrom a generally planar sheet from which additional frame elements arecut.